Nowhere to go: The mental health crisis in Western North Carolina | OPINION

When one envisions Western North Carolina, one imagines stunning vistas and the luxury of the Omni Grove Park Inn and Biltmore. They think of Linville Falls and the gentle quiet of Boone and the sound of trains as the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad winds it way through one of America’s most beautiful National Parks. Those who have had the chance to visit this end of the state over the past couple years, however, have witnessed the growing problem that is metastasizing across the region and bringing home a reality that more and more is being trumpeted on newsreels and TV broadcasts…mental health.

The homeless are the most obvious sign of the problem. One cannot walk the streets of Asheville on a night in the summer and not stumble past someone sleeping on a bench or under a tree or asking passersby for money. In 2017, approximately 562 people were living on the streets, up about 10 percent from the year prior. Of those 562, about 239 were veterans. This is following a ten year plan that Asheville had embarked on in 2005 to end homelessness in the city which included the construction of shelters, food pantries, and other resources. Although this plan brought in more resources, it did not make the problem any better.

Homeward Bound has focused its efforts on housing homeless veterans, as the number of homeless ...more

Homeward Bound has focused its efforts on housing homeless veterans, as the number of homeless veterans in Asheville is on the rise.

Alexandria Bordas/Citizen-Times

Rev. Michael Woods, the executive director of Western Carolina Ministries put it aptly, “You would never solve homelessness only by creating enough houses. There are always other issues that are there, and I think we need to address those things.”

Those things are larger issues within the community that are not being addressed adequately, particularly in the realm of mental health.

Mission Hospital, the area’s largest hospital and containing the area’s largest emergency room has long been attributing the long wait times to the congestion of mental health patients crowding the department. In 2017, Mission saw approximately 547 mental health patients which was up 31 percent from the year prior. One patient in particular ended up boarding in the emergency department for about 19 months before being discharged. Because of this crowding, there have been concerns voiced about staff and patient safety.

The reason that this is happening is because in North Carolina, approximately 90 percent of inpatient psychiatric beds have been cut from state facilities since 1970 when they were first built. Patients who are reliant on the mental health system to take care of them are either living on the streets or living in Mission’s ER. Mission is hoping to create more inpatient psychiatric beds but that takes both time and money.

Broughton Hospital, the inpatient state run psychiatric facility in the region is undergoing renovation with the promise of relieving some of the congestion in the area, but between environmental violations and issues with contractors, healthcare professionals aren’t hopeful for an impact any time soon.

In 2017, Cannon Hospital in Linville was awarded a $6.5 million grant to expand their 10 bed behavioral health unit to almost 30 beds. 20 extra beds is truly a drop in the ocean for the amount of need in the area, however. In 2016, Cannon had received over 5,000 psychiatric referrals and admitted about 560. The grant is certainly a start in regard to fixing the problem, but definitely not a final solution.

“There are just not enough options for crisis care in our communities,” said Larry Thompson, a board member for Western Carolina chapter of National Alliance on Mental Illness. “There’s just more need than there are beds available.”

Mental health needs to be back on the docket as being a priority in Western North Carolina. Patients need more places willing to treat them, and more support from community resources. Western North Carolina isn’t able to do that without funds. We need to reinvest in the most vulnerable within our community so that they stand a chance at recovery.

Bridget Seelinger is a registered nurse in the Emergency Department at Mission Hospital in Asheville. She is pursuing her Masters of Public Health at East Tennessee State University.